| Each generation has its anti-cartoonist cartoonist, the lone genius whom almost everyone -- whether they read comics, like comics or even know anything at all about comics -- seem to know and like and consider respectable.…Those in search of the next lone genius or those looking for a gorgeous collection of literary short stories would also do well to pick up "Summer Blonde," the latest hardbound collection by Adrian Tomine.

Tomine is a master of the arts of both cartooning and fiction, and he uses each to complement the other. His panels are meticulously, nearly obsessively perfect, and his freakishly accurate mastery of human facial expressions means that many times, he is able to forgo lengthy plot explication altogether and say it all with spare dialogue and a glance or gesture. It makes one wish that MFA students intent on writing minimalist fiction would simply get themselves to the drawing board instead.